A cancer not usually associated with asbestos exposure when it is found in the upper portion of the lung. |
A decrease in the exhaled air flow caused by a blockage of the airways which can occur with asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. This reduces the patient’s lung's air sac tissue to move oxygen into their bloodstream. |
Means that a person was exposed to asbestos during work hours. |
A registered nurse who has master’s degree in oncology. |
The use of an FDA-approved drug for something other than that for which the drug was approved. |
An apron like fold of the peritoneum supporting the viscera (soft internal organs of the body, including the lungs, the heart) that surrounds the stomach and other organs in the abdomen. |
The initiation of cancer cells into an organism. Refers to the cell changes leading to the development of a malignant tumor. |
A gene thought to be capable of producing cancer. The gene is usually inactive, when the gene is "turned on" (activated), it can cause normal cells to change into cancer cells. |
A doctor who specializes in the cancer diagnosis and treatment. |
Type of specialized medicine devoted to cancer diagnosis and treatment such as mesothelioma. |
A Registered Nurse with a master's degree in oncology that specializes in the patient care. Oncology nurse specialists may prepare and administer treatments, monitor patients, prescribe and provide supportive care, and teach and counsel patients and their families. Some oncology nurse specialists are also certified nurse practitioners. |
A person with a master's degree in social work who works with cancer patients. The oncology social worker provides counseling and assistance to people with cancer and their families, especially in dealing with the non-medical crises that can result from cancer, such as financial problems, housing (when treatments must be taken at a facility far away from home), and child care. |
In oncology medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for example, the onset of mesothelioma. |
A drug test in which patients are not assigned by chance and not blinded to what they are taking. Both patients and researchers know which drug is being tested and the dosage amounts that are being used. |
A medical procedure involving an incision with instruments to repair damage or eliminate a disease in a living body. |
A powerful prescription narcotic pain reliever that includes morphine, codeine, Duragesic, and Dilaudid, often prescribed to treat the pain associated with mesothelioma. |
An infection or condition that takes the opportunity of a weakened immune system to cause disease. |
A status granted by the FDA to un-patentable medications developed for rare diseases which afflicts a US population of less than 200,000 people. Orphan drug status gives the drug's manufacturer a seven-year right to exclusively market the compound. An orphan drug is any drug developed under the 1983 U.S. Orphan Drug Act, which concerns drugs for orphan diseases. |
A condition in which a patient must sit or stand in order to breathe deeply or comfortably. |
Stands for. It is the branch of the United States government which sets and enforces occupational health and safety regulations. OSHA also regulates the use of asbestos and sets the standards for its distribution. |
A procedure in which one or both ureters are brought through the abdominal wall to form stoma(s), often a loop ostomy. A temporary procedure (unless the bladder is removed), frequently preformed on chidren. A pouch must be worn at all times. |
Doctors who are not contracted with a managed care plan. |
A patient who receives health care services, but is not admitted to a hospital during a 24-hour period. |
A malignant tumor, of any histology, on or within an ovary. Because many ovarian tumors are benign but have the potential to become malignant, a broad definition of ovarian cancer includes all ovarian tumors, malignant and benign. |
An investigational anticancer drug (platinum analogue) that belongs to the family of drugs called platinum compounds. |
A colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that makes up about 1/5 of the air we breathe. Oxygen is the essential element in the respiration process to sustain life to human, animal and plant life. |